“This is by far the best superhero anthology around, and a must-read for comic book fans.”
-Publishers Weekly, starred review
Introduction “The Return of the Super Story”
Kim Newman “Übermensch!”
Chris Roberson “A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows”
Steven Barnes & Tananarive Due “Trickster”
Leah Bobet “They Fight Crime!”
J. Robert Lennon “The Rememberer”
Christopher Golden & Mike Mignola “The Nuckelavee: A Hellboy Story”
A.M. Dellamonica “Faces of Gemini”
Kelly Link “Origin Story”
Rachel Pollack “Burning Sky”
James Lowder “The Night Chicago Died”
Ernest Hogan “Novaheads”
Kurt Busiek “Clash of Titans (A New York Romance)”
Cory Doctorow “The Super Man and the Bugout”
Carol Emshwiller “Grandma”
Jonathan Lethem “The Dystopianist, Thinking of His Rival, Is Interrupted by a Knock on the Door”
Jack Pendarvis “Sex Devil”
Benjamin Rosenbaum “The Death Trap of Dr. Nefario”
George Singleton “Man oh Man – It’s Manna Man”
Paul Di Filippo “The Jackdaw’s Last Case”
James Patrick Kelly “The Biggest”
Win Scott Eckert “Philip José Farmer’s Tarzan Alive: A Definitive Biography of Lord Greystoke”
Jess Nevins “The Zeppelin Pulps”
George R.R. Martin “Wild Cards: Prologue & Interludes”
Carrie Vaughn “Wild Cards: Just Cause”
Tim Pratt “Bluebeard and the White Buffalo: A Rangergirl Yarn”
Will Clarke “The Pentecostal Home for Flying Children”
Camille Alexa “Pinktastic and the End of the World”
Gene Wolfe “The Detective of Dreams”
George R. R. Martin’s Wild Cards rampage through unrecorded history! Mike Mignola’s Hellboy battles the fiendish Nuckelavee! Can Camille Alexa’s Pinktastic prevent the end of the world? Will Jonathan Lethem’s Dystopianist cause the end of the world?
In these pages, you’ll find the exploits, machinations, and epic mêlées of these superpowered aliens, undead crusaders, costumed crime fighters, unholy cabals, Amazon warriors, demon hunters, cyberpunk luchadores, nefarious megalomaniacs, daredevil sidekicks, atavistic avatars, adventuring aviators, gunslinging outlaws, love-struck adversaries, and supernatural detectives.
In these twenty-eight astounding Super Stories, join larger-than-life heroes and villains in the never-ending battle of good versus evil!
*STAR* Editor Lalumière has put together an impressive best-of anthology for modern superhero fiction, with works from SF royalty like George R. R. Martin and Kelly Link, hit comics creators Kurt Busiek and Mike Mignola, and wonderful but lesser-known writers. The satisfying and varied stories range from J. Robert Lennon’s deeply sad “The Rememberer,” about a super-powered storyteller. who can never forget, to Benjamin Rosenbaum’s brilliant and lighthearted “The Deathtrap of Dr. Nefario,” in which a familiar crime-fighter calls his therapist from a routine death trap. Also of note are Paul Di Filippo’s “The Jackdaw’s Last Case,” starring Franz Kafka as a superhero, and Busiek’s hilariously cynical “Clash of Titans (A New York Romance),” about a marketing man encouraging the rivalry between a superhero and his villainous ex-girlfriend to increase tourism. There are a few missteps: Gene Wolfe’s “The Detective of Dreams” is out of place, and Rachel Pollack’s Wonder Woman-inspired “Burning Sky” detours so far into sexual fantasy that it entirely loses the plot. Even so this is by far the best superhero anthology around, and a must-read for comic book fans.
-Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Not only are the stories fine in their own right, but they will provide a certain illumination you can take back with you when you’ve returned to the 8-paneled page.”
-Nexus Graphica